If you do a little research, methyl salicylate has been known to be hazardous to your health for decades in specific quantities. In fact, it's used in insecticide, and some plants create methyl salicylate as chemical protection against animals that are trying to eat it.

If you do a little research, methyl salicylate has been known to be hazardous to your health for decades in specific quantities. In fact, it's used in insecticide, and some plants create methyl salicylate as chemical protection against animals that are trying to eat it.

If you do a little research, methyl salicylate has been known to be hazardous to your health for decades in specific quantities. In fact, it's used in insecticide, and some plants create methyl salicylate as chemical protection against animals that are trying to eat it.

If she weighed 120 lbs (54.5 kg), this means 272.5 grams of methyl salicylate. Bengay (I believe) is 10% methyl salicylate, whoich means that according to the EPA studies it would take about 6 pounds of Bengay to poison someone in an acute case. The EPA site lists two-year studies with no effects from chronic exposure.

This is why they said:

Deaths from topical salicylate poisoning appear to be extremely rare. Borakove said this was the first case she has encountered in 20 years with the medical examiner's office. None of the doctors contacted for this article could recall any others. Research into medical journals revealed a few reports of salicylate toxicity when absorbed through the skin, but no deaths

According to the EPA:

In dogs orally exposed to methyl salicylate
for two years, no adverse effects were observed at 50 mg/kg/day

Take into account how much higher the dermal toxicity is, and the fact that these dogs were fed these amounts every day for two years, and I call BS on someone overdosing from simply using Bengay during track season, in other words, as another article on the case says

Even with repeated use, however, it is unclear how the extremely high levels of the substance remained in her body.

There's not even an explanation of how it killed her, besides the fact that the levels were very high:

The overdose likely led to a seizure.

The article mentions "her brief athletic career" and the fact that "she had been using a teamates Bengay (ie. didnt even own it)" = total bullshit on her od'ing from normal use.

I think a) rolling or on something else + dehydration etc. aggravating the effects of being slathered with it b) some sort of disorder that allowed it to build up in her body or c) she may have ingested/inhaled amounts of it or d) all of the above. I have vague memories of kids in high school getting some sort of cheap high that involved wintergreen or peppermint oils.

Lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit + the parents themselves suspected she was up to no good at the party:

An autopsy was inconclusive and led to speculation her sudden death might have been connected to a party she attended the night before. "I am glad this shows [Arielle] didn't die of her own doing. But this is a tragedy that could have been avoided," said her mother, Alice Newman.

Again, I am going to down a handful of ephedra and cover myself with bengay to protest :new_Eyecr

Wow, nice find Ironlurker. Somehow, in a sick way, I find it more comforting to think that she died from some bizarre rave-related drug ritual than that she was some sort of obsessive compulsive wierdo who rubbed her body with gallons of bengay.

I know I'm old (41) but even in my wildest days as a teenager (and they were pretty wild - I have the scars to prove it) I would never have considered any alleged high that involved bengay and a vibrator. :new_shock Thats just how I roll.

NEW YORK - Arielle Newman was a high school track star who suffered from the typical aches and pains that result from a grueling training regimen. For relief, she covered her legs with large amounts of muscle cream.
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The 17-year-old died from an accidental overdose of methyl salicylate, the wintergreen-scented ingredient found in liniments like BenGay, Icy Hot and Tiger Balm, the New York City medical examiner's office said last week. The death was the first of its kind in the city, authorities said.

Experts said Newman's death points to a need for clearer warnings about risks, especially because muscle creams have become a staple in locker rooms around the country.

"There has to be a heightened awareness that these products are something that needs to be used under medical supervision," said Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center.

Newman, a cross-country runner from Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island, put the muscle cream on her legs between track meets and also used adhesive pads containing the anti-inflammatory, plus an unspecified third product, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner.

"There were multiple products, used to great excess, and that's how she ended up with high levels," Borakove said. The products were used and the chemical absorbed over time, rather than from a single instance of overuse, she said.

Although no clear documentation exists on deaths resulting from the application of muscle cream, experts said they have never heard of one other than Newman's.

Johnson & Johnson, the maker of BenGay, expressed sympathy to the Newman family and said in a statement that the product "is safe and effective when used as directed to provide relief from minor arthritis pain, sore, aching and strained muscles and backaches."

Chattem Inc., the maker of Icy Hot, did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

The labels on both products say to stop using them if "condition worsens or symptoms persist for more than 7 days."

The labels also say to keep the products out of the reach of children.

"It's on my one-swallow-to-kill list for kids," said Dr. Thomas Kearney, who directs a poison control center and is a professor of pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco.

Kearney said topical application of methyl salicylate can be hazardous if it is smeared over 40 percent of the body, if someone has a skin condition or if another medication interacts negatively with the products.

Varlotta said the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration should mandate the warning labels also include that the products contain aspirin, which can be harmful for some consumers, including those with asthma.

Kimberley Rawlings, a spokeswoman for the FDA, said the agency is aware of Newman's death. "We are looking into it," she said. She would not say whether the labeling requirements for methyl salicylate products might be changed.

Methyl salicylate is not the only common pain reliever that can be dangerous if used improperly.

Accidental poisonings from acetaminophen, best known by the Tylenol brand, are the nation's leading cause of acute liver failure.

Rebecca Burkholder, vice president for health policy at the National Consumers League, said a major problem is that people don't read warning labels on over-the-counter drugs.

"People are thinking if it's on the shelf at their local drugstore that it's harmless," Burkholder said. "And they're going to take as much as they need to make the pain go away."